Sunday's Question of the Day - Aug 31, 2014

[pinkdagger]

One of my friends always had a fear that in our relatively well off cul-de-sac (so honestly a dead end street with 20 or so houses where we knew each neighbour), she would get shot walking on the sidewalk in a driveby shooting. Needless to say, our community (and city) is not one that is known for its violence or crime. She was also afraid someone would sneak into her house and murder her when no one else was home.

So let me ask you... Do you have any irrational fears?

One of my own irrational fears is that when I'm swimming in a pool (usually indoor where lighting isn't super bright), if the water gets deep enough that it gets dark and obscures my vision, megalodon-sized sharks and Humboldt-sized squid will grab me and pull me down to the bottom of the pool, which for all I know could be endless even if the sides of the pool only say 20 feet. I LOVE swimming and sharks are my favourite animal, but the mystery of what's in the darkness makes me panic. If I swim down into it or jump in, the ascent back to the top I can feel my heart start to race as I get closer to the surface because *any minute* something could grab me! It's a little bit fun and exciting, and also nerve wracking.

 

[sivyaleah]

Balloons.  

It isn't like I'm going to run out of room if there's one in there but I do get a small amount of anxiety over them. The other day, I was waiting for a prescription in CVS and the little girl near me was blowing up one.  It kept getting larger, and larger and I was really concerned it was going to pop near my face.  

So dumb 

 

[mackimus]

A fear of heights. I'm sure many people have that one but I'm not so sure it happens when just standing on top of a table. Don't get me wrong, standing that high doesnt get me freaking out, but a part of my mind is all "crap, what am I doing up here?" You should see me climbing a ladder, it's like a man going to his death.

 

[Draco]

any bugs that's crunchy. roaches, beetles.. ugh.

 

[Kat0121]

 
One of my friends always had a fear that in our relatively well off cul-de-sac (so honestly a dead end street with 20 or so houses where we knew each neighbour), she would get shot walking on the sidewalk in a driveby shooting. Needless to say, our community (and city) is not one that is known for its violence or crime. She was also afraid someone would sneak into her house and murder her when no one else was home.

So let me ask you... Do you have any irrational fears?

One of my own irrational fears is that when I'm swimming in a pool (usually indoor where lighting isn't super bright), if the water gets deep enough that it gets dark and obscures my vision, megalodon-sized sharks and Humboldt-sized squid will grab me and pull me down to the bottom of the pool, which for all I know could be endless even if the sides of the pool only say 20 feet. I LOVE swimming and sharks are my favourite animal, but the mystery of what's in the darkness makes me panic. If I swim down into it or jump in, the ascent back to the top I can feel my heart start to race as I get closer to the surface because *any minute* something could grab me! It's a little bit fun and exciting, and also nerve wracking.

Heights. #1 worst fear of all. Anything off the ground is too far off the ground for me

 

[Kat0121]

 
One of my friends always had a fear that in our relatively well off cul-de-sac (so honestly a dead end street with 20 or so houses where we knew each neighbour), she would get shot walking on the sidewalk in a driveby shooting. Needless to say, our community (and city) is not one that is known for its violence or crime. She was also afraid someone would sneak into her house and murder her when no one else was home.

So let me ask you... Do you have any irrational fears?

One of my own irrational fears is that when I'm swimming in a pool (usually indoor where lighting isn't super bright), if the water gets deep enough that it gets dark and obscures my vision, megalodon-sized sharks and Humboldt-sized squid will grab me and pull me down to the bottom of the pool, which for all I know could be endless even if the sides of the pool only say 20 feet. I LOVE swimming and sharks are my favourite animal, but the mystery of what's in the darkness makes me panic. If I swim down into it or jump in, the ascent back to the top I can feel my heart start to race as I get closer to the surface because *any minute* something could grab me! It's a little bit fun and exciting, and also nerve wracking.

You and I have exactly the same irrational fear. I will not swim in a pool in the dark that isn't lit up for exactly that reason and will not for any reason swim in the ocean, lake or any body of water that is not a man made swimming pool because there are things living in it. I can sort of justify the second half of that living in Florida because we do have gators, snapping turtles, snakes, etc in the water around here but it would be no different anywhere else.  I also refuse to swim in any "inhabited" body of water because those inhabitants use those bodies of water to perform their bodily functions. The idea of swimming in all that is just gross especially since it really has nowhere to go or any way to be filtered out. 

 

[alyssam]

I hate being by myself in the store. If Glen and I go to Walmart and he says something like, "I'm going to go look at 'X', you can start getting stuff on the list." I'm like, NOPE NOPE NOPE. I'll just come with you. 

 

[peaches08]

I'm afraid of heights, even seeing the Grand Canyon on TV makes me somewhat sick.  I'm also afraid of water that I cannot see in, and because of all the shrimping here the waters are dark and murky, and we have some of the largest shark nurseries on the eastern seaboard.  However, shark attacks are extremely rare around here.  But, I'm still afraid and rarely go into the ocean.

 

[fhicat]

Phobia level? None, but I get very anxious around balloons and thunderstorms -- the kind with real thunder, not the wimpy rains we have here in Michigan that the forecasters label as "severe thunderstorm". 

 

[swampwitch]

I don't like rooms without windows. I particularly don't like small, enclosed spaces with no windows.

I grew up in a bedroom in the middle of an old house (the room was originally the parlor) and it had no windows to the outside. It had doors that opened to rooms with windows, but when the doors were closed at night, it was PITCH BLACK like a cave. I asked my mother for a night light, but she did not "believe in" them. 

Also don't like overhead lights, but who needs those when you have windows? 

 

 

[Norachan]

I don't like big department stores or shopping malls, particularly the kind that don't have windows that let you see outside. I've got to be able to see a bit of sky or greenery and know where the stairs or lifts are or I break out in a cold sweat.

I grew up in the UK at a time when they IRA were bombing places and I remember being in a shopping mall once when there was a bomb scare. They evacuated the building and in the rush I got separated from my mum and dad. I got panic attacks in shopping malls for a long time after that.

Even now I still hate shopping.

 

[catsallaround]

 
Balloons.  

It isn't like I'm going to run out of room if there's one in there but I do get a small amount of anxiety over them. The other day, I was waiting for a prescription in CVS and the little girl near me was blowing up one.  It kept getting larger, and larger and I was really concerned it was going to pop near my face.  

So dumb 

My fear too!  I have gotten a bit better over years where I will avoid it but if I have to be there I can deal better..  Mylar are semi ok but the latex...no. 

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Mine....plants! I have none in my house. I have worked myself up to being able to keep a garden. It's a raised bed one so i can walk around the outside. I wear gloves and sleeves and sometimes pants depending on how big what I'm working with is. DH has to help harvesting some things. Especially the summer squash and zucchini with the huge leaves you have to reach through. I have to keep my face back. I also don't care for bugs or prickly things; so the gloves, sleeves and husband all help. LOL

It amazes my mother that i keep a garden. My grandfather is so proud another grandchild has been bitten by the gardening bug. I'm working on ideas to put flowers and some shrubs around our house too.

The whole thing started when I was very small. My cousin us six years older than me and she was the apple of my mother's eye till I came along. She knew as a baby I didn't like the feel of grass on my feet or legs so she'd carry me to the middle of the yard and leave me there. I remember being locked in a closet when i was about 18 months old. And being dunked under water when i was still learning to swim. Amazingly; we now get along fine. I don't see her often; but we keep in touch through Facebook especially.

 

[Winchester]

The dark. Yes, I know how silly it is. But I am afraid of the dark.

And I don't like clowns.

 

[Norachan]

 
The dark. Yes, I know how silly it is. But I am afraid of the dark.

And I don't like clowns.

Clowns scare the b'jesus out of me too

 

[sivyaleah]

 
My fear too!  I have gotten a bit better over years where I will avoid it but if I have to be there I can deal better..  Mylar are semi ok but the latex...no. 

Ok there's 3 of us with the balloon problem lol.  I had NO idea this was a thing!   I feel a lot less weird now 

 

[sivyaleah]

 
Clowns scare the b'jesus out of me too

Oh yes, I relate to this also. DISLIKE.

 

[zoocat]

For me, it's always been spiders.  When I was little, I'd have repeated nightmares about bing caught in a giant spider web and this huge horror movie sized spider would be coming to wrap me up. I'd wake up screaming.  In fact, I'm 64 years old now and still occasionally have a similar dream although the size of the spider has diminished somewhat!  When I was in the first grade, the teacher had to call my mom because she thought I had a bladder infection.  I had to go to the bathroom and I'd raise my hand and she'd tell me to go, but I'd get in there and in the corner by the toilet was a tiny, tiny, web...no spider visible, just a little web and I'd freeze and run back to my seat...for about 2 minutes and repeat.    As the years passed, I got better and better, but just the sight of a decent sized spider makes my stomach lurch.  But I'm like 1000% better than I was growing up.  I have to be or I'd be locked up in the loony bin.....because I live in Alabama in a semi rural area on a very wooded lot....guess what we have in Alabama by the boatload....brown recluse and black widows.  I have the little glue traps everywhere that I can put one that is out of the reach of a cat (which means, not that many places...under low furniture and closet corners mainly.  I do catch some of the monsters, but thank God, not too many.  I know they're here (I doubt there are very many houses anywhere in this area that don't have, them whether folks see them or not)  and  I still manage to sleep at night.  I think I worry more about one of the cats getting a hold of one and getting bitten than I do myself....I've come a long way.  

 

[stewball]

Clowns scare me. Being outside when it's dark. I'm scared of people then and have to phone my ex to come and fetch me and rape.